The Monitoring Team has released its Fifth Semiannual Report and Comprehensive Re-Assessment, which serves as a qualitative and quantitative update on the implementation of the Consent Decree. Read the full report here.

On July 13, 2018, the Monitoring Team approved the Cleveland Division of Police’s (“CDP”) curricula for its 2018 In-Service Training for all CDP officers. The curricula address critical subjects required by the Consent Decree, including crisis intervention, community engagement and problem-solving, and bias-free policing.

The 4-hour Crisis Intervention Training provides not only an important refresher on principles of the First-Year Crisis Intervention Training provided in 2017, but also specific guidance for officers to understand ways to resolve mental health crises, including by not arresting the subject and instead referring to an appropriate mental health agency; transporting the subject voluntarily to a hospital or crisis center; transporting the subject involuntarily to a hospital or crisis center; and arresting the individual when appropriate. The curriculum also addresses how trauma can impact law enforcement officers, the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder on officers, and how to access resources for help within the Division and in the Cleveland community.

Additionally, the 8-hour Community Engagement and Problem-Solving Training provides sufficient guidance for officers to understand principles of community policing, communicate and engage with Cleveland residents, seek partnerships with community members and organizations, and develop collaborative solutions to public safety problems. This training provides all officers with foundational skills that will be critical as the Division finalizes its Community and Problem-Oriented Policing Plan, which is currently receiving community input.

Finally, the 12-hour Bias-Free Policing Training provides sufficient guidance for CDP officers to understand forms of biased policing, the ways in which biased policing obstructs the goals of law enforcement, and how to minimize the occurrence of biased policing by identifying and managing moments where their decision-making may be susceptible to implicit bias. The bias-free policing training was developed with assistance from the Center for Policing Equity, a research center that has created and conducted evidence-based procedural justice trainings across the country.

In December 2017, the Monitoring Team conducted eight focus groups with 78 sworn CDP personnel (about 5% of sworn personnel).

The Team worked with CDP to randomly select officers across all of CDP’s Districts and platoons. The eight focus groups included 5 all patrol officer groups; 1 all white patrol officer group; 1 all non-white patrol officer group; and 1 all sergeant group. The focus groups were structured around a set of open-ended questions developed by the Monitoring Team, including: (1) relationships and engagement with the community; (2) use of force; (3) discipline and accountability; (4) supervision and leadership; and (5) general experiences with the Consent Decree.

As summarized in the Officer Focus Groups Report, the Monitoring Team found that “much work remains on transforming the Division into an organization that works both for officers and the community that they serve.” Perhaps foremost among the Team’s observations was officers’ perception that a “lack of effective communication regarding CDP efforts to change its policies and processes, entrenched morale issues, and an adversarial relationship between line officers and the administration have tended to hamper the Division’s internal transformation.”

The Monitoring Team submitted the Third-Year Monitoring Plan, which focuses on real-world implementation of a host of critical changes within the Cleveland Division of Police, to the Court. This Plan includes required implementation of new systems, procedures, and protocols for use of force investigations, officer misconduct investigations, and community and problem-oriented policing.

As required by Paragraphs 35 through 44 of the Consent Decree, the City of Cleveland, on behalf of the Cleveland Division of Police, submitted a proposed Bias-Free Policing Policy (General Police Order 1.07.08) to the Monitor.

After carefully reviewing the Policy, the Monitoring Team determined that it provides sufficiently clear guidelines around, among other things: (1) the Division’s expectations for its members around bias-free policing; (2) the principles of procedural justice in police-civilian interactions; and (3) protocols to report bias-based policing. Further, it advances equitable and bias-free policing principles that will support both the Division and the communities that the Division serves.

Consistent with the Decree's requirements, the Cleveland Community Police Commission ("CPC") was substantially involved in the development of the Bias-Free Policing Policy. The CPC’s efforts to gather feedback from a broad spectrum of the Cleveland community were considerable, with 14 total town hall meetings held across the city. This process of community involvement reflects the kind of upfront, democratic engagement of the community on substantive policing policies that the Consent Decree envisions—where policies and expectations for officers are actively discussed across Cleveland’s communities before and as they are formulated.

While the Monitoring Team recommends approval of CDP's new policy, it understands that no one policy or piece of paper can, by itself, address concerns, experiences, or histories involving inequity, discrimination, bias, or disparate treatment. The Division is not considering this policy to be a “magic pill.” Instead, the Proposed Policy exists as one building block that sets forth clear expectations about CDP’s values and rules of conduct.

As required by Paragraphs 245 through 249 of the Consent Decree, the City of Cleveland, on behalf of the Cleveland Division of Police, submitted a proposed revised Disciplinary Matrix to the Monitor.

Reviewing the proposed Disciplinary Matrix, the Monitoring Team determined that it provides sufficiently clear guidelines around, among other things, (1) the types of CDP misconduct violations that are subject to discipline; (2) the appropriate amount of discipline for first-time and successive violations; (3) the mitigating and aggravating factors that are relevant to the determination of discipline; and (4) the circumstances that may not be considered in determining discipline.

Along with the views of the City, Division of Police, Department of Justice, and the Monitoring Team, the Proposed Disciplinary Matrix reflects the input of other critical stakeholders. The Office of Professional Standards and the Citizen Police Review Board provided their comments on April 21, 2017. Those comments were incorporated into later drafts. On August 22, 2017, the Cleveland Community Police Commission (“CPC”) held a community meeting for Cleveland residents to share their feedback on a draft of the disciplinary matrix. The CPC subsequently conferred with the Division to provide its comments and insights. Additionally, the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association (“CPPA”) expressed its concerns in an April 21, 2017 letter to CDP regarding proposed revisions to the disciplinary matrix and recommended additional changes for the Division to consider.

The Monitoring Team concluded that the revised Disciplinary Matrix satisfies the terms of the Consent Decree and recommended that the Court order it effective January 1, 2018.

Pursuant to Paragraphs 154 through 156 of the Consent Decree, a host of the Decree’s other substantive requirements, and the Updated First-Year Monitoring Plan, the City of Cleveland (the “City”) has submitted a revised Crisis Intervention Policy and Procedure (the “CIT Policy”) to the Monitor. The term crisis intervention refers to those law enforcement interactions involving individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis, such as mental health, substance abuse, or other long-term behavioral health challenges.

As required by the Consent Decree in Paragraphs 132 through 134, the City established a Mental Health Response Advisory Committee (“Advisory Committee”) to address and coordinate crisis intervention issues with the Division. The City in turn partnered with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Service Board of Cuyahoga County (“ADAMHS Board”) to develop the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee consists of members of the community, including mental health professionals, advocates, individuals recovering from mental illness and addiction disorders, Cleveland’s Municipal Court, the State of Ohio Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence (“CJCCOE”), and representatives from the City and CPD. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Monitoring Team were invited to participate in the Advisory Committee as well. The Advisory Committee has met regularly and has worked hard to “foster relationships and build support between the police, the community and mental health providers."

The Monitoring Team has closely reviewed the proposed crisis intervention policy. The CIT Policy submitted to the Monitor makes it clear that a “crisis intervention response may be necessary even in situations where there has been an apparent law violation.” Consent Decree ¶ 154. It provides that specialized CIT officers will “have appropriate discretion to direct individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues to the health care system.” Consent Decree ¶ 155. Additionally, the policy makes it clear that specialized CIT officers, when available, must be dispatched to all calls or incidents that appear to involve an individual in crisis. Consent Decree ¶ 156. Because the City has submitted a CIT Policy that has met the requirements and objectives of the Consent Decree, the Monitoring Team recommends approval of the policy subject to the conditions regarding the completion of certain attachments discussed below.